If “diapause” is not a word you are familiar with, you should probably look it up before approaching Andrew Forbes’ new novel of the near future. A Google search provides easy access to multiple definitions involving insects. One from Science Direct will suffice: “an ‘actively induced’ dormancy that blocks developmental growth of an organism in anticipation of a major harsh seasonal change, such as winter.” In the human context substitute “such as post-tipping point climate change.”
Narrated by Peterborough, Ontario-born Gabriel, who begins the book aged 10 in 2020, as COVID-19 hits and society shuts down, The Diapause imagines episodes of Gabe’s life up to 2060. As the pandemic begins, Gabe’s parents take him to a remote cabin, but within month’s their marriage ends, as Gabe’s father becomes increasingly paranoid and his mother wants to return to the city, which she does, Gabe in tow. Gabe’s family ends and so does any vision of harmony for his future.
Forbes is a powerful writer, strong at imagining the plausible implications of the climate crisis and depicting the subtle intimacies of interpersonal relationships.
Forbes is a powerful writer, strong at imagining the plausible implications of the climate crisis and depicting the subtle intimacies of interpersonal relationships. Most of the major disasters are reported but not described. Gabe remains, for example, in the area between Montreal and Toronto. We told the southern United States has collapsed and vast areas are now underwater. The insurance industry is kaput. Population growth has reverse and economies sputter.
Developmental growth, in other words, is blocked. The progress of history, such as it was, has reversed. Remarkably, however, life goes on. It has become dormant but not ended. In 2060, Gabe’s mother is in a nursing home that readers will find familiar. Gabe’s father is gone, but his father’s second wife and widow tracks Gabe down to pass along a long-lost message. Forbes has written a novel shockingly matter of fact about the disasters we may anticipate. Perhaps, like insects, it is a stage we must pass through before a future awakening.
Forbes is the author of the short story collections Lands and Forests (2019) and What You Need (2015), which was short-listed for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and named a finalist for the Trillium Book Prize. He also writes about baseball.
Andrew Forbes is the author of the story collections Lands and Forests (Invisible Publishing, 2019) and What You Need (2015), which was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and named a finalist for the Trillium Book Prize. He is also the author of The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays (2016) and The Only Way Is the Steady Way: Essays on Baseball, Ichiro, and How We Watch the Game (2021). Forbes lives in Peterborough, Ontario.
Publisher: Invisible Publishing (October 1, 2024)
Paperback 8″ x 5″ | 288 pages
ISBN: 9781778430503
Michael Bryson has been reviewing books since the 1990s in publications such as The Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Paragraph Magazine, Id Magazine, and Quill & Quire. His short story collections include Thirteen Shades of Black and White (1999) and The Lizard and Other Stories (2009). His fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories and other anthologies. His story Survival is available as a Kindle single. From 1999-2018, he oversaw 78 issues of fiction, poetry, reviews, author interviews, essays, and other features at The Danforth Review. He lives in Scarborough, Ontario, and blogs at Art/Life: Scribblings.
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
- Michael Brysonhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/michaelb/
